LOS ANGELES — It just might have been the game that made, instead of broke, USC’s NCAA Tournament chances. The player who stirred the Trojans’ elixir that evening was not a usual suspect.

Oregon had seized a 15-point lead on USC’s home floor. Before O.J. Mayo could shoot his team back into the game, somebody had to secure the ball.

That’s the role Keith Wilkinson was born to play. He came off the bench and played 23 of the most important minutes in this USC season, crashing in from the perimeter to grab a career-high 11 rebounds. He kept alive three key possessions with offensive rebounds.

For a team that has pestered opponents relentlessly on defense, but rarely won the rebounding battle, it was the missing link.

“It’s everything,” USC coach Tim Floyd said. “We have been so good defensively at stopping play in the half court and not fouling. But the third part of defense is the defensive boards and that’s where we’ve really struggled.”

That game provided the signature moment for the junior from Mission Viejo, but they were far from his only pivotal minutes as a Trojan.

Floyd said he could name 10 games — which he then did, off the top of his head — that the Trojans would not have won without Wilkinson’s contributions. Among those were their last three victories over Arizona, the team USC (17-9, 8-6 in Pac-10) plays tonight with the possibility of securing a Tournament berth.

Arizona is the kind of team that could bury USC on the basis of rebounding and turnovers, the kind of team that calls for Wilkinson’s skills.

In 277 minutes, he has turned the ball over seven times. That’s the best ratio on the team, another reason Wilkinson is valuable though he scores an average of just 2.1 points per game.

“What he’s always done is enhanced who we are offensively without scoring, because he is a non-turnover guy, he is a better screener than anybody we’ve got and he’s a facilitator,” Floyd said.

In other words, he is the anti-Davon Jefferson. Wilkinson gives Floyd an option rather than a replacement for one of his brightest talents.

Jefferson scores, Wilkinson passes.

Jefferson attacks, Wilkinson plays defense.

Jefferson explodes to the rim, Wilkinson takes a rebounding stance.

It’s a skill set that takes time to appreciate and won’t eat up much time when the Trojans show their highlight reel at the post-season banquet. Wilkinson incubated those skills in backyard one-on-one games with his father Jerry, a 6-foot-9 former NFL defensive end.

Jerry Wilkinson’s NFL days were cut short, literally. He played two seasons with the Rams, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers.

“In those days, it was legal to chop block,” Keith Wilkinson said. “They’d just take out his knees. His knees got pretty messed up.”

Keith Wilkinson then honed his skills playing quarterback on the Pop Warner fields of Orange County. He ditched football when he took a beating in his freshman year at Capistrano Valley High.

In fact, had Wilkinson attended Mission Viejo High instead, he thinks he might have stuck with football. Considering he grew to 6-foot-10, it looks like he made the right choice.

“As far as passing, I think football helped with that, just getting the touch,” Wilkinson said. “I feel like I’m one of the best big men passing-wise.”

Wilkinson could have attended his dad’s alma mater, Oregon State, and he probably would have had a larger role than the one he plays for the Trojans. Instead, he left scholarship offers from Oregon State and Arizona State to accept a one-year offer at USC.

Wilkinson entered his sophomore season thinking he’d have to pay his way, but Floyd made an announcement one day after practice. As long as he was the coach, he said, Wilkinson would be under scholarship. Floyd didn’t extend the same deal to guard Collin Robinson, who transferred to Cornell.

“It gets better every year,” Wilkinson said. “Last year was special because we made it to the Sweet 16. Hopefully, this year we can go even farther and I can be an even bigger contributor.”

HACKETT SCRATCHED

Starting point guard Daniel Hackett did not practice Wednesday because of flu-like symptoms, according to a USC spokesman.

Hackett, who has missed the last three games with a stress fracture in his lower back, had been cleared to practice by a specialist earlier in the week. He did make the trip to Arizona with the team and will be evaluated before Thursday’s game to determine if he can play against the Wildcats.

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